Contrary to the misleading statement of Vice President Sara Duterte on 23 November 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) may still investigate cases in the Philippines that were brought before it prior to the date the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute became effective.
“Any probe conducted by the ICC would be an intrusion into our internal matters, and a threat to our sovereignty. We are done talking with the ICC. Like what we have been doing from the beginning, we will not cooperate with them in any way, shape, or form,” Duterte said.
“To allow the ICC to investigate crimes that are now under the exclusive jurisdiction of our prosecutors and our Courts is not only patently unconstitutional but effectively belittles and degrades our country’s legal institutions,” she added.
The vice president was reacting to resolutions filed in the House of Representatives urging the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “to extend their full cooperation to the ICC Prosecutor with respect to its investigation of any alleged crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC.”
The ICC, which was created in July 1998 under the Rome Statute, is a Hague-based intergovernmental organization “established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.” The court focuses on crimes like genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
For his part, Marcos, who as senator voted in favor of the Rome Statute when it was submitted to the Senate for ratification, said proposals for the country to rejoin the ICC are “under study.” If that happens, ICC prosecutors would possibly be allowed to investigate and, depending on the evidence that would be obtained, prosecute former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president’s father, and his officials for crimes against humanity committed in the conduct of his “war on drugs.”
Article 127-2 of the Rome Statute states that a country’s withdrawal from the treaty “shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”
Article 127-2 means the Philippines is still obliged to cooperate in the investigation of cases that started before the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect.
Article 127-1 states: “… The withdrawal shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification, unless the notification specifies a later date.”
The ICC had started a probe into the drug war deaths in 2016. Then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the ICC will conduct a preliminary examination of these deaths in February 2018. The pre-trial investigation began on Sept. 15, 2021 — covering crimes allegedly committed in the country between Nov. 1, 2011, the date the Rome Statute became effective in the Philippines, and March 16, 2019.
On 17 March 2018, then-President Duterte formally notified the UN secretary-general that the Philippines was withdrawing from the Rome Statute. The withdrawal became effective on 16 March 2019, a year after its receipt by the UN Secretary General.
Government records say over 6,000 were killed in anti-drug operations from June 2016 until May 31, 2022, but human rights groups estimate that the death toll may be as high as 30,000.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories.
MindaNews is a verified signatory to the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
